[SOLVED] Thoughts about upgrade choices

Sep 1, 2021
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Hello, so I was thinking of upgrading some parts. Current specs is
HP 3396 motherboard
32GB DDR3 Ram
Nvidia geforce gtx 1650
1TB of HDD (seagate)
128 GB of SSD memory
2 monitors
Intel i5 3470

Was looking to upgrade my i5 3470 to i7 3770 since it also has a LGA 1155 socket type. What kind of permanence difference would it bring?

Gonna upgrade the 1TB to a 6GB seagate. Im pretty sure they would have the same SATA port and ill just transfer the data over.

What would be a good upgrade in the further future for the graphics card. Thought I might try to wait for a GTX 980 ti perhaps?
 
Solution
Hello, so I was thinking of upgrading some parts. Current specs is
HP 3396 motherboard
32GB DDR3 Ram
Nvidia geforce gtx 1650
1TB of HDD (seagate)
128 GB of SSD memory
2 monitors
Intel i5 3470

Was looking to upgrade my i5 3470 to i7 3770 since it also has a LGA 1155 socket type. What kind of permanence difference would it bring?

Gonna upgrade the 1TB to a 6GB Seagate. I'm pretty sure they would have the same SATA port and ill just transfer the data over.

What would be a good upgrade in the further future for the graphics card. Thought I might try to wait for a GTX 980 ti perhaps?

I have 2 options for you... The First is a whole new build. The second is just upgrading your old build although I don't recommend it at this...

punkncat

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You would likely have to do some background checking around to see if the motherboard supports the i7.

Honestly would probably consider a new budget system continuing to use the 1650 and storage options. i3 or R3 would be inexpensive to build and far better performance than the 3rd gen chipset. Judicious selection of Ryzen offer awesome upgrade paths as well...

Budget?

Market?
 

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Aug 31, 2015
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Hello, so I was thinking of upgrading some parts. Current specs is
HP 3396 motherboard
32GB DDR3 Ram
Nvidia geforce gtx 1650
1TB of HDD (seagate)
128 GB of SSD memory
2 monitors
Intel i5 3470

Was looking to upgrade my i5 3470 to i7 3770 since it also has a LGA 1155 socket type. What kind of permanence difference would it bring?

Gonna upgrade the 1TB to a 6GB Seagate. I'm pretty sure they would have the same SATA port and ill just transfer the data over.

What would be a good upgrade in the further future for the graphics card. Thought I might try to wait for a GTX 980 ti perhaps?

I have 2 options for you... The First is a whole new build. The second is just upgrading your old build although I don't recommend it at this point considering how old those parts are. Also keep using the 1650 for now as the PSU I opted for will be enough for almost anything you can throw at it. Given the price point between the 2 different builds I would go for the new one and just bite the bullet seeing as it will last you much longer and it's only a few hundred dollars more.

1. New Build

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 3.8 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M AORUS PRO-P Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: HP EX920 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba X300 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($175.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Montech X2 Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: NZXT C 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($111.73 @ Amazon)
Total: $887.67

2. Old Build w/ New Parts

Mixed Build

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($193.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Vetroo V5 52 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($137.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 6 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Montech X2 Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA P2 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $680.95
 
Solution
Sep 1, 2021
3
0
10
I have 2 options for you... The First is a whole new build. The second is just upgrading your old build although I don't recommend it at this point considering how old those parts are. Also keep using the 1650 for now as the PSU I opted for will be enough for almost anything you can throw at it. Given the price point between the 2 different builds I would go for the new one and just bite the bullet seeing as it will last you much longer and it's only a few hundred dollars more.

1. New Build

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 3.8 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M AORUS PRO-P Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: HP EX920 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Toshiba X300 6 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($175.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Montech X2 Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: NZXT C 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($111.73 @ Amazon)
Total: $887.67

2. Old Build w/ New Parts

Mixed Build

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770 3.4 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($193.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Vetroo V5 52 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($137.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 6 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Montech X2 Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: EVGA P2 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $680.95

I think you make a good point. To reduce cost I think I'll hold off on the HHD upgrade reuse my current case.

Also, why did you include a cooler for the mixed build and not the new build. The new build will have adequate fans or something?

Is there any use i can have for my ddr3 ram. Seems like a shame to not have one.

Thank you for the help.
 

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I think you make a good point. To reduce cost I think I'll hold off on the HHD upgrade reuse my current case.

Also, why did you include a cooler for the mixed build and not the new build. The new build will have adequate fans or something?

Is there any use i can have for my ddr3 ram. Seems like a shame to not have one.

Thank you for the help.

The Ryzen 3 3300x comes with an amazing stock cooler that is much better then the Intel stock cooler, also the 3300x already has a slight overclock to it that's why it has the "X" variant.

Sadly the DDR3 RAM would be useless in the new build. But you could always turn the old system into a server for Minecraft or something. Or since it's 32GB you could always sell it and get some money towards the new PC.

I still recommend the newer system. It should have you covered for another 8 years or so as long as you keep up with the cleaning of the system depending how often dust collects, if it's not a lot then maybe once every six months, if it is a lot then maybe every 2 months but cans of compressed air is cheap and it only takes about 10 mins.

A 980 Ti would be a good fit for the 3300x. If you can't find one then I would suggest a 3060 Ti, a 2070, or 2070 Super. I wouldn't go higher than that because then the CPU would be a bottleneck. The good thing about the PSU that I picked will allow you to use those new GPUs.

If you have any more questions, I'm here to ask and I hope your build goes well. I just wish you were in the Philadelphia area so I could help you more. I would try a Micro Center if you have one within driving distance because they offer a $25-$50 discount on CPU & Mobo combos as well as many other great deals.
 
Sep 1, 2021
3
0
10
The Ryzen 3 3300x comes with an amazing stock cooler that is much better then the Intel stock cooler, also the 3300x already has a slight overclock to it that's why it has the "X" variant.

Sadly the DDR3 RAM would be useless in the new build. But you could always turn the old system into a server for Minecraft or something. Or since it's 32GB you could always sell it and get some money towards the new PC.

I still recommend the newer system. It should have you covered for another 8 years or so as long as you keep up with the cleaning of the system depending how often dust collects, if it's not a lot then maybe once every six months, if it is a lot then maybe every 2 months but cans of compressed air is cheap and it only takes about 10 mins.

A 980 Ti would be a good fit for the 3300x. If you can't find one then I would suggest a 3060 Ti, a 2070, or 2070 Super. I wouldn't go higher than that because then the CPU would be a bottleneck. The good thing about the PSU that I picked will allow you to use those new GPUs.

If you have any more questions, I'm here to ask and I hope your build goes well. I just wish you were in the Philadelphia area so I could help you more. I would try a Micro Center if you have one within driving distance because they offer a $25-$50 discount on CPU & Mobo combos as well as many other great deals.

Probably end up throwing some stuff together with the old model and give it to my little sister as a starter. She likes roblox and minecraft haha.

Yeah I noticed that the PSU more powerful than mine. With it I might go a little further and hook up a ryzen 7 3700x. Would be a significant step up from ryzen 3 correct?

I'll probably hold off on a graphics card upgrade for now. Will try to keep the 1070 in my sights on the horizon.

You have been an immense help bro, thanks.
 

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Probably end up throwing some stuff together with the old model and give it to my little sister as a starter. She likes roblox and minecraft haha.

Yeah I noticed that the PSU more powerful than mine. With it I might go a little further and hook up a ryzen 7 3700x. Would be a significant step up from ryzen 3 correct?

I'll probably hold off on a graphics card upgrade for now. Will try to keep the 1070 in my sights on the horizon.

You have been an immense help bro, thanks.

Thank-you for the complement. A 3700x would be a better CPU if your budget can afford it. I would also try the used market for a CPU if you have a hard time finding one especially on the AMD side. I would try AliExpress for used CPUs, they have great prices but the only downside it the wait for shipping.

I found a great deal on eBay. Look Here
 
Thank-you for the complement. A 3700x would be a better CPU if your budget can afford it. I would also try the used market for a CPU if you have a hard time finding one especially on the AMD side. I would try AliExpress for used CPUs, they have great prices but the only downside it the wait for shipping.

I found a great deal on eBay. Look Here
The 3700X retails for over $300. There's cheaper alternatives w/solid benchmarks.
 

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Aug 31, 2015
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18,715
Probably end up throwing some stuff together with the old model and give it to my little sister as a starter. She likes roblox and minecraft haha.

Yeah I noticed that the PSU more powerful than mine. With it I might go a little further and hook up a ryzen 7 3700x. Would be a significant step up from ryzen 3 correct?

I'll probably hold off on a graphics card upgrade for now. Will try to keep the 1070 in my sights on the horizon.

You have been an immense help bro, thanks.

I have 2 more options for you.

1. Ryzen Threadripper 8 Core

2. Intel 9900k 8 Core